Captain Cook's Cottage LbNA # 12011

Background:
Cooks’ Cottage was the childhood home to Captain James Cook, ‘discoverer’ of Australia. Built in 1775 by James and Grace Cook (the parents of the famous English navigator), the cottage was originally located in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, England. The home stood there until it was purchased in 1933 by Sir Russell Grimwade for 800 pounds as a centenary gift to the people of Victoria. Amazingly, the homestead was dismantled, numbered, and sent to Australia brick by brick, shipped in 253 crates. It even came complete with a cutting from the ivy which had grown on the original building. Today the same ivy blankets the home.

Clue:
To find this stamp, first locate the lush Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. You must then endeavour to find Cooks’ Cottage, which is simple enough: just follow the signs scattered around the gardens. Once the cottage is in sight, go and find a great Australian tree. Standing underneath the tree, face the cottage and follow the path that disappears around the right-hand side of the entrance. Stay on the path that hugs the fence around the cottage’s garden. You will cross a tiny ‘bridge’ that covers a ditch. Keep on walking until the path ends at a “T” intersection. Standing at the intersection, you will see a pair rocks shaded by a tree at approximately eleven o’clock. Go to the larger of the two rocks and you will find a smaller rock tucked in behind it. Underneath this rock lies your treasure.

Please take care when uncovering this letterbox, as it is in a busy part of the gardens. (We had to be very sneaky hiding it; I was the lookout person.) You will need to bring a pen and your own ink for this letterbox, and of course your own stamp and book.

Enjoy!
KW and Noles

Before you set out, please read the
waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.
Please be sure to reseal baggies and boxes carefully so that they stay dry
and rehide boxes in their original location, completely hidden from view.